How Healthcare Will Tax Middle Class, Poor

Despite President Obama’s promise to refrain from raising any taxes on families earning less than $250,000 a year, the healthcare bill being considered by the Senate does just that.

So says Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). It says families who reject health insurance will have to pay an excise tax of $1,500 if they are at the top of the poverty level to 300 percent above it.

And families who are more than 300 percent above the poverty line would owe $1,900.

ATR said in a statement, “300 percent of the federal poverty line is well under $250,000. For a family of four, it's $67,000.”

Employers who don’t offer health coverage must pay a tax of $400 per employee.

ATR points out that this represents an incentive for employers to drop coverage, as $400 is a lot less than the average plan cost of $11,000 for families.

Moreover, because many small businesses pay taxes on their owners’ 1040 forms, even those owners making under $250,000 would get hit with the $400 tax.

The bill also would raise the floor at which taxpayers could itemize a deduction for medical expenses to 10 percent of adjusted gross income from 7.5 percent.

Despite the opposition of groups like ATR, Democrats are confident healthcare reform will be enacted.

“The desire to pass healthcare reform legislation is so strong. . . that we're going to resolve those differences and pass it this year," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, according to Reuters.

Despite President Obama’s promise to refrain from raising any taxes on families earning less than $250,000 a year, the healthcare bill being considered by the Senate does just that.So says Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). It says families who reject health insurance will...